Finally Finlay
The City of Columbia is proud to share Finally Finlay, a poem by Columbia SC Poet Laureate Jennifer Bartell Boykin, written for the reopening of the renovated Finlay Park.
Inspired by the Carolina Wren, the poem celebrates hope, joy, and peace, welcoming everyone to enjoy this special place.
Special thanks to Peg Averyt, Mayor Kirk Finlay’s sister, and her daughter Margaret Averyt, featured in the video next to Mayor Finlay’s statue.
Video by Lester Boykin, New Sky Film Production
Finally Finlay:
a second life
well- lived,
a gift we didn’t
know we needed.
This nest of a park
for rest and joy,
for quiet from the noise,
peace down by the stream,
yawning forth
with a stretch of yoga,
pickle ball game picked up,
a hill to roll down,
or a quick workout,
a strolling walk,
a place to vibe to music
or enjoy a fun festival,
a place for comfort
or soothe.
Our place, our park
for our people.
A Carolina wren
rests on its nest,
watching over us.
Its loud whistled
notes call to us,
call us to more,
call us to be better.
This place of rock,
water, and soil,
this place to shake
from our weary minds
the dust of the day
and bask in what
the sun has to offer.
I think on the wren.
Her wings
waiting for a wind.
Her ears prickling
with the sounds of
children’s laughter.
Her eyes brooding
over the people
coming and going.
The stage faces
the city to serenade
its citizens,
who are waiting
for more,
who may sing back or not.
Do you remember walking around
the old pond to get to the other side?
You may be standing where the old pond
once was right now.
The new pond has a bridge
to bring us together quicker,
a bridge to a thing that
could look like peace.
The overlook plaza is where you can
spy with your little eye
the skyline of this city, our city:
O, Fair Columbia!
What you have for us today
may not be the same as tomorrow.
But we walk on.
In this sloped land of ridge and valley,
once a home to the Congaree People,
now a park for all people.
My city. Your city. Their city. Our city.
The Carolina Wren’s
song is sometimes a screech,
sometimes cheerfully loud.
What noise will you bring
to this park?
How will your voice add
to the chorus of people
here today?
Finally Finlay stretches forth
her wings to welcome us.
Finlay is for the folk, for all folk,
for our folk, for us and them.
Let it be so.
